Again making me thinkPretty sure you'll have me hit the brinkBut yes there seems to be a need for some kind of badIn order for people to be gladAnd to spout their hocus pocusAs the road you try to focusPiss and hellReally the foul words you tell..LOLWas I firstWith this burstOr did I take to long to composeThis with me toes

"must there be a hellfor salvation to matter?"Ah, the seminal question, Brian, and well said. The answer is no, for me, because there's no need to be saved from anything in the first place. Great questions all the way through.sHe's laughing, by the way. ;)

Jesus as portrayed in the New Testament is always a loving God.He forgives even the worst of all worst sinners. HE even said that the good shepherd will leave his flock of good sheep which faithfully follow HIM to go looking for a sheep that has gone astray.

Threatening people with dire consequences like frying in hell is not going to work. The only thing that will work is LOVE and FORGIVENESS, HELP AND UNDERSTANDING. All threats will go to waste.

Any reasonable man or woman should know that our life on this earth is only temporary and for a short period.We have come from God and we have to go back to God. If we have received the blessings of God by doing good things on this earth we will be rewarded with eternal happiness in heaven. If we have not received God's approval by dong things which are pleasing to God we will surely be punished just as Adam and Eve were punished.

I was thrilled to see how you have removed the gender from God by using sHE. This is a very original idea. God surely has no gender like she or he.

I certainly don't think we need to scare anyone into salvation. Our Heavenly Father knows everything about us including how to best communicate with us and draw us to Him. It is however our choice that He freely gives us whether to accept or reject Him. By accepting Him we can have joy in knowing that we will spend eternity in His presence and if we reject Him then we will forever be separated from Him. I choose to live my life as an example to others that I hope see His Light and Love shining through me.

"a man on the roadsideplacard affixed to his chestbeckons at passers by 'repent or fry'Without getting to deep into religion...I wonder how do they know that we will "fry" if we don't "repent"...Of course, it's written in the Bible, but still? I guess the answer is we want know until we die.

[Postscript:I also like your wording here:"God just laughtil sHe gets a...or are the twinkling starstears in HEr eyes?..." to indicate that The Creator, gender is unknown?!? (Or it can indicate that you, think that The Creator, is many beings?!?)

Personally, I feel that The Creator is like some Chameleon(s) able to become who "SHe" "HEr" wants to become and in truth is any and everything in this Universe.]

True words my friend. I distrust the emotional blackmail card, no matter who plays it. However, as a pagan-y sort of atheist, I have to say the Hell part of the Christian ethos does attract me--I like to think of all those who so richly deserve it,and who for one reason or another escape our earthly justice, sizzling away down there. But the carrot-stick method to me lacks true belief in what you're preaching being right--why do you have to bribe OR threaten if it's all so good?

I haven't read a near death experience yet, that talks about feeling the searing pain of heat and almost walking into the fire. It's always about the light and feeling the love. Your first few lines really hooked me into this poem. Nice.

well, honestly, my husband and I still talk about "points" when we see someone acting foolish along the side of the road...(in our youthful bliss/ignorance we totally enjoyed "death race" movies - do you think God was laughing with us? They were such a metaphor for stupidity!) Anyway...totally loved it again...it is so good to come here and be delivered from taking myself so seriously!

Hell, I don't think so. I absolutely love this, Brian. I often think and say, when it comes up, that no, we won't go to hell, we're already there. We just have to keep trying to get it right in order to stop the repeated cycles.

I love that you called God a woman..who knows?I went to a funeral of a friend today..and instead of concentrating all of the service on HIM and his wonderful life, out came the fire and brimstone: "you gotta be saved" bible banging speech. It was so sad that my friend's funeral couldn't be spared that out of respect to him. Some religions just don't get it...that by pushing their agenda on others, they turn people AWAY instead of TO......

Brian,Nicely done. Organized religion feels too much like a club or clique to me. The whole "We're the good ones" attitude, and if you're not one of us, you're wrong is really off putting. The idea of something to aspire TO and inclusion rather than saving FROM and exclusion sits much better with me!

Love the questions, Brian. Fear sells best, it seems, even when it's purportedly love on the auction block. How pathetic is that! Some laughter, I think, in god's eyes, but mostly just tears and wondering... did sHE really make humans as dense as all that?

So true, so true. I think sHe must laugh at us, and cry, too. I could go and on and on about how religion (I'm a preacher's daughter) distorted my view of who sHe is to me...but I digress. Love is the only thing that makes sense or why bother? Why would anyone be drawn to a God that represents the opposite? I was wondering, have you read Rob Bell's new book? Turns the Christian heaven/hell idea upside down...and I like it. Anyway, nice thought provoking piece here. Very nice. It rings of truth.

I don't know Brian. Jesus talked about hell more often than heaven. He seemed pretty concerned with rescuing us from something as well as into something. I do agree that He never seemed to used fear tactics unless He was being shockingly honest about the price of following Him.

Brain--So glad to be back and able to respond so much faster than ever before with this incredible high-speed. I agree with Meeko...great play on the spelling of those two words and how just by spelling them as you did you make them "one". After all...that is the point, isn't it? We are all one...there is only one god, that by which we call many names, be it He or She, or Buddha, or Mohammed, or Me, or You.

I've learned that a conscience finds its home in heaven to the level of sconscience it had on earth, so I imagine there must be hellish level, as there are a lot of people with hidden consciences, we will be all at our own level

If you are what you write, and you feel what you feel I can see you in a lovely level :)

Good thoughts, I have heard reformed theologians say that to accept Jesus because of a fear of hell is not really accepting him in relationship, so they question someones salvation based on the fear of hell and then those same theologians are the ones arguing the point about hell??? I do believe in hell and am not a universalist I am one of those "Sudo Christians" I guess that believe Christ will show himself and it is our choice to follow him, and that some will even choose not to after being with him face to face, it is a gift to not be forced to love, but to be able to choose.

Oh man Brian is this a DEEP, DEEP, DEEP one! I live in a community that lives the repent or fry mentality and oh, it is tiresome...this one speaks VOLUMES to me...can't wait to share it with my hubby.EXCELLENT!

Honestly. Your writing is delightful. It's such a perfect mix of provocative, funny, heart-felt, inspiring.I'm especially loving this line: "maybe we should all just dance in the street."Today you have reminded me to let my joy in Christ shine through more fully and brightly. Thanks, Brian!!

I can only belief in a religion that teaches me to do the right things and have my heart at the right place for the sake the communities I'm part off.....not for a personal gain/loss in a sort of "heaven" or "hell" when I die